HOT DATES / NORTH BAY

George Snyder

Published
4:00 am PST, Friday, January 28, 2000

BUFFALO BOOGIE

Norton Buffalo, one of the top harmonica players of the modern era, brings his special brand of music to rural Marin this evening. He's been on 100 albums, backing up the likes of Bonnie Raitt, Elvin Bishop, Johnny Cash, Steve Miller and the Doobie Brothers, among others. A member of the Steve Miller Band, Norton has been honored with Grammy nominations, Bammies and the Bay Area Blues Award as Blues Harmonica Player of the Year.

MORE MILLENNIUM MADNESS

The Marin Theatre Company presents the Reduced Shakespeare Company doing "The Complete Millennium Musical," a musical comedy version of the last 1,000 years put into a nutshell, or at least squeezed into 100 minutes. The survey runs from Leif Eriksson to the Y2K Bug and includes Joan of Arc on a radio call-in show and a lecherous Galileo doing a lounge act about "Heavenly Bodies."

SAN RAFAEL 8 p.m. Thursday and February 4; 6 and 8 p.m. February 5; and 7 p.m. February 6. $35-$40. Marin Center Showcase Theater, Avenue of the Flags, near the Civic Center. (415) 388-5208 or (415) 472-3500.

CONGO LINE

Find out what African rhythm and roots are all about at the Congolese Dance Workshop, led by a group of professional Congolese dancers, teachers and master drummers. Two workshops are held each year, one in Northern California, the other next month in Hawaii. The Africans are coming to Marin from around the world to help spread an understanding of their culture. Two classes are being held, one for newcomers to African drumming and dance, the other for the more advanced.

FUNNIES FROM THE CITY

The Best of the San Francisco Comedy Competition, featuring Vinny Favorito and Don Freseise -- the winners from the past two years -- show up in Sonoma County to try to tickle some funny bones. Not every joke is appropriate for kids, so beware -- but adults should have a ball. Sue Murphy plays host with special guest J.R. Brown.

UP IN LIGHTS

Santa Rosa neon artist Michael Hayden, who utilizes light to create luminous sculptures, gives two lectures -- "Thinking Lightly" -- on his involvement with his original art form over the past 30 years. A Toronto native, Hayden's work can be seen in Chicago's O'Hare Airport and numerous other public buildings across the nation, Europe and Asia.